Archive for the ‘update’ Category

TUW update

Thursday, March 30th, 2023

After careful consideration and much back and forth, I decided to pull the plug on the TUW trilogy, indefinitely.

In spite of a new outline and fresh start, I’m struggling with the writing/rewriting and I’ve also come to think that, given how science and sci-fi concepts have evolved in the past decades, and how real-world politics have as well to a certain extent, several aspects of the story would no longer work for a modern release. In the end, there is so much to change or update that it would cause the story to lose many of the plot elements I envisioned, notably a critical event in the second book that was the main inciting incident for the third.

I’m not abandoning this universe just yet. I might revisit it with short stories, or a different story, or aspects of TUW from another POV… But after close to 30 years, maybe it’s time to realize that maybe this story, at all the different stages from 1994 to 2001 to 2008 to today, was only meant to be a training stage, and nothing more.

March being what it was (i.e. a bitch), there’s also that besides the issues with TUW itself, I feel that I simply tried to do too much too quick. Between work, family stuff, my transition, the news… I’ll be taking a break from writing altogether for the next few weeks. I need to center myself and see where I’m at, and tackle the next project with mindfulness and clarity.

Chel

Website relaunched! (and other updates)

Saturday, January 21st, 2023

I finally got around to updating http://www.rachelrelat.net/ and everything is now back online as it was before, with new Amazon links for the two Ascalon books and the Planes of Ascalon companion booklets that go with them…

I kept the promo images as they were, only updating the cover images, despite the fact that the quoted reviews are now unavailable. It’s quite a disappointment that I had to lose them, to tell the truth, and I hope potential readers won’t judge me for clinging to them, given the lack of new ones to replace them. And if they do, well… C’est la vie.

In other news, January’s been pretty quiet, but production is ramping up on the sci-fi front, the plan is still to have the first draft of The Uncertain War completed by end of year. Plan for the French translation of TDR being published by summer is also nicely back on track.

Best of 2022

Sunday, January 1st, 2023

2022 was a shit year for the most part but improved significantly towards the end: new job, new car, my coming out… and without a doubt the best gift of all, adopting my little Mochi.

She’s approximately four years old and went through several homes, so it was important to give her a forever home that would be loving, quiet and secure. To the pleasant surprise of the shelter folks, who thought it would take her time to trust someone again after all these setbacks, she adopted me immediately, coming for pets, purring, exploring, and being overall playful and confident around the flat after just a few days. January 2nd marks three months with her and I couldn’t be happier. I love her to bits, she’s the sweetest cat you could imagine. It took me ten years to be ready to adopt again after losing Gally, and I guess that’s how much time the world needed to to find her a worthy successor! Well, we found each other, at last, and I feel incredibly lucky about that.

So thank you 2022, you still sucked… but you weren’t all bad.

Victory! (and other updates)

Sunday, December 25th, 2022

The Ascalon paperbacks are live again at last on Amazon! Thanks for the xmas gift KDP!

With this update now complete, I will now restore the corresponding pages here as well as the Planes of Ascalon companion pieces in the downloads section.

As for future works, 2022 having been the annus horribilis that it was, all my timelines have shifted more or less a year. Next year right now is looking to be pretty much entirely focused on sci-fi, as I really want to complete the first draft of TUW and send it for editing before the year is out, for a revised target publication date of 2024. I’m pushing The Commodore’s Gold a bit farther down the line as a result; however, French Ascalon fans rejoice, as the French translation of The Dragon Run will hit the shelves some time this year, probably in time for the summer holidays.

loading…

Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

Done! Ebooks are resubmitted and paperback proofs are underway. If everything checks out, I could have all versions back on sale like before as soon as next week. Stay tuned!

Update on book listings

Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

Okay, so updating names on Amazon kinda worked… but kinda didn’t. As it turns out, once published, the print version of a book cannot be unpublished (something something second-hand sales as per KDP support), so the versions with my birth name on them are going to stay there indefinitely it seems, unless I file a copyright claim against… myself. Which yeah, is ridiculous.

Anyway, long story short, I registered a brand new author profile on KDP, and I will resubmit my books for publication from this new profile in the coming days. This way, while the other versions might appear in search results, at least they won’t be listed side by side with the new when someone visits my author profile.

While all this is going on, sorry for any inconvenience caused. (Let’s face, given the popularity of my titles, I don’t think I’m losing any sale anyway! Ha ha *sad laugh*).

Fingers crossed that I’m not flagged for impersonating myself in a different profile, given what I’ve seen of how everything works that’s a risk I guess… At some point, after I publish Ascalon #3 and my profile is more established, I might file that copyright claim and nuke the original profile.

To be continued.

this is 43

Friday, November 25th, 2022

Last year, I stood at a threshold, unsure of what would happen after I walked through. I set to make my 42nd round around the sun the year where I would “build my own answer” to Life, the Universe, and Everything that is, in a wink to Douglas Adams.

It’s been a year of transition not just in terms of my journey with gender, it’s been a transition at virtually every level in my life. A move. A breakup. A new job. A new car. A new kitty. A new relationship with my family, a new loneliness of a kind I never knew before, the closure of a secret garden, in the words of my dear Saint-Ex, and a new, secret regret that time passes relentless, and its wake sometimes hurts to the core.

It was a year of Grief, learning to live without dad. A year of Joy, learning to live as myself. A year of Light, as I stepped out of the closet…

And this year, technically, has now ended.

It’s a bit early for 2023 goals, but I’m looking ahead at that 43rd revolution as a year that will hopefully bring quietness to the turmoil. More stability and confidence, as I progress in my transition, as I settle in my new job, as I rebuild, as Najwa Zebian so beautifully says, a new home for my soul.

Here’s to a year of quiet, content growth, of warmth, and joy.

Love

Chel.

Quick note about the past

Friday, November 4th, 2022

So I’m working on getting the listings updated and the pictures on the website will reflect that, but at the same time, I will not be deleting or editing past promo pictures here or on IG. They’re also me, if not the whole me, and they’re part of my writing journey. Sone of them also contain some of my earliest reviews, and that’s very dear to me. Long story short, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been there first. I just expect y’all to be understanding and respectful, and not use the name on these pictures going forward. Just so we’re clear.

KDP update

Thursday, November 3rd, 2022

As you may have noticed, my books went offline yesterday as I’m the process of republishing them under my real name. This means that the ISBN, listing and URL will be new. This also means, unfortunately, that I am losing the ratings and reviews that I had so far.

The new books have been sent and the links will be updated as soon as the review process clears. For now both TDR and TKC will be only available as ebooks. I need to locate the source files for the paperback covers and this is going to take some additional time. The companion PDFs will be updated accordingly as soon as the books are live at the latest.

The French translation of TDR was scheduled for publication in time for the end-of-year holidays but I am no longer sure I can make the schedule, sorry. There’s been a lot more change behind the scenes than the transition and I barely had time to review it.

That’s all for today. Later folks!

Mini-review: Severance (2022)

Monday, May 9th, 2022

These past few weeks haven’t been smooth sailing, but I’m kind of back. I’m extremely behind on my writing, NaNo April was a bust, I just didn’t have any heart for it. I’m planning to slowly get back into it, but I just haven’t yet. After my dad’s passing, I flip-flopped about focusing on my French hist-fic saga project… But I don’t know.

Everything is pretty much on hold on all fronts, except for one thing that I can’t quite get into yet. I’ll probably have an announcement about it later this year, if things go as planned. The release dates for the WIPs are likely going to be pushed back.

In the meantime, I spent the weekend on Severance (on Apple TV+), a dystopian show where a new implant technology allows us to hermetically separate our work life and our personal life. It’s as captivating and horrifying as it sounds, and absolutely riveting.

The show manages to capture the tedium of office environments and make it both gorgeous and ominous, making you wonder what hides behind every turn of the labyrinthine corridors of the “severed” floor, and behind the smiles of its cultish managers… The photography and art style are ultra polished and framed to perfection (the Bell Works building and its atomic age vibes make for a perfect location for a show full of retro-futuristic mid-century-ish elements) and the cast brings everything together incredibly well. The finale also resolves enough of the mysteries to be satisfied, but leaves enough pending that you just can’t wait for Season 2 to drop.

One of the best written shows of the year. Greatly recommended.